Dr Suzie Imber - Associate Professor of planetary science at the University of Leicester, mountaineer, rower, rock climber, runner

Show notes

• Loving sports & science
• Coming from a sporty and academic family
• Playing lacrosse at school and University
• Deciding to take up high altitude mountaineering
• Climbing mountains in South America - Heading to Bolivia to climb 6,000 m peaks
• The struggles she faced at the start - dealing with the cold the wind and the altitude
• How she moved forward with mountaineering
• How she developed her skills with no money
• Climbing a non technical mountain and learning through experience
• The impact of altitude on her body
• The next mountain and heading to Alaska!
• Climbing Denali….with no guide
• Being stuck inside the tent for 12 days…
• The preparation that’s done in advance
• Summit night on Denali
• Fitting in climbing around her PhD
• Funding her expeditions to the Andes
• Collecting data and using the super computer!
• Identifying all of the mountains over 5,000 m in the Andes
• Finding Inca ruins on the summit of mountains
• Getting to name the mountains…
• 106 mountains over 6,000 metres….
• Route planning in modern times
• Adjusting back to life after spending time out in the mountains
• TV opportunity and being approached by the BBC… Do you want to be an Astronaut?!
• The tests!
• Developing resilience
• Being taken outside her comfort zone
• Staying calm under pressure
• Wanting to go into space & astronaut selection..
• Being back in the academic world
• Inspiring the younger generation with outreach programs
• Dreaming about the mountains….
• Having balance in her life… getting up at 5am, running, getting to work at 7 am, work…
• Why routine is so important 
• Learning languages… and why you have to challenge yourself and do things that you aren’t good at
• Persistence, working hard and developing skills

Twitter - @SuzieImberSpace